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October 16, 2011

NCP demands second language status for Urdu at national level

The Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) has urged the Centre to give the status of second official language to Urdu in the country.

The party leader Tariq Anwar has made the demand regarding the language. Anwar said that Urdu is spoken across the length and breadth of the country and it was high time the language was officially made the second language at the national level.

While Urdu has been given the status of second language in Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Delhi, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Jharkhand, on ground level this hasn't improved the status of the language.

Recently, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee declared similar status for Urdu in West Bengal also. Anwar, who is currently a Member of Parliament (MP) from Maharashtra, said that Urdu was largely spoken by Muslims. He said that Urdu should be given its due.

However, he also urged the Urdu speakers to ensure that they use the language in their official communication and letters to administration, particularly, in states where Urdu was already declared a second language.

Speaking to journalists in Delhi, Anwar demanded CBI inquiry into the Forbesganj firing in Bihar and the recent communal riot in Uttarakhand's Rudrapur, on lines of the killings in Gopalgarh. He also said that the Sachar panel's recommendations should be implemented.

The NCP leader said that Bihar government must expedite the release of land for construction of Aligarh Muslim University's (AMU) campus in Kishanganj, else the NCP would go for a complete bandh in the state.